Da Balaia PORTUGAL

Another generally successful stay with Club Med. The special feature of this resort in Albufeira in my opinion is the ecosystem pool. You get to swim with tiny fish and are surrounded by frogs, lotus plants. The temperature of the water, for some reason is warmer and tends to stay that way, compared with the main swim pool and the ocean - they were cold even in July.

Trapeze was a smaller one (compared with Punta Cana). There is a concessioned beach area, for Club Med guests but not very big. Perhaps it was because the beach was shared with other public concessions, there aren't water sports at all at this resort.

Other than that, it offers usual Club Med activities such as archery, beach volleyball, tennis lessons, golf lessons (a 5-minute drive outside of the resort), mini golf, pingpong, various floor exercises (stretching, body balance, steps, etc).

Check in was smooth. We asked for two rooms to be near with each other before the trip and were told that they will do their best but no guarantee. We actually got two rooms next to each other with ocean views so that was great.

Rooms were clean and more up to date (compared with those Club Meds in Punta Cana, Ixtapa and Cancun). We thoroughly enjoyed the rooms and their amenities. Shower was strong and toiletries were abundant and to the details. We even got a shower room (a guest room after we checked out for a quick shower and change) and that was very thoughtful.

The grounds was beautiful. Not too big so a small village feel yet lots of space for quiet times.

Food - I think that a lot people agreed that the food was not as good as before the COVID. But that is probably true everywhere due to the cost. Yet, we still enjoyed the freshly baked bread, and a lot of other fresh ingredients. I would prefer more variety on the menu as sometimes it was a bit boring. Also, you got to pay for the steak and lobster dishes on the sit-down dinner at Vasco, their specialty restaurant. There was no sight of smoked salmon, nor fancy seafood in the buffet restaurant. Perhaps once, we had BBQ lobster-like seafood but I cannot tell for sure it was lobster. I also prefer a cup of freshly brewed coffee in the morning that is served on your table, but blame on the COVID, there are only coffee machines to make your own coffee.

Entertainment - while I still felt the ClubMed spirit at large, the evening shows were quite boring. 3 nights in a row were dancing shows and the themes were quite similar. Kids enjoyed them very much whilst I was hoping for more variety of shows, not just dancing.

Overall, it was still quite a nice experience. As always, it was hard to bid good-bye.

The club med Da balaia is the definition of paradise! The resort is beautiful, with lots of activities to always ensure that you’re having fun no matter what age. My GO’s were very sweet and helpful. Marty, Catarina and Louis are all very amazing at their job, and they made the experience even more enjoyable. I’ve made a lot of friends I will never forget this one in a lifetime event, i am extremely grateful to have met everyone at the club med, and i hope i can revisit soon.

If you’re not French and go to ClubMed for the first time, your visit starts with astonishment: you thought you were in Portugal but everybody speaks French, and no one seems to be interested in even trying to speak English or Portuguese, except for the amazing staff of course!

But when you are over the fact that you arrived in France, it’s actually pretty amazing: it starts with how you are welcomed by Matteo in such a warm, friendly way, that you feel right at home! And the place is amazing, beach is beautiful and the food is of great quality!

But the best thing about this place is the super friendly staff: Catarina is such a bubbly and cheerful person and always down for a high five with the kids, and the whole Go team is making you feel at home every day. But the icing on the cake is Paulo, the bartender from Brazil: such a great personality, friendly to the kids and always makes time to teach you some Portuguese. And, very important: if the boomers try to skip the line, he is the only one telling them (very friendly of course), that someone else was first to order.

Thank you so much everybody!